
I Just Ran
Percy Williams, World's Fastest Human
Samuel Hawley(Author)
Ronsdale Press
Will be published approx. on 1. September 2011
Book
Paperback/Softback
332 pages
978-1-55380-126-9 (ISBN)
Description
At the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics an unknown Vancouver runner named Percy Williams shocked the sports world by capturing the 100- and 200-metre gold medals. Some said the feat was a fluke. It was not. In 1929 Percy silenced naysayers by sweeping the US indoor track circuit, then he went on to set a world record in the 100 meters that would stand until the arrival of Jesse Owens. And in between he waged a speed duel with the fleetest men on the planet, a battle for track supremacy and the title "World's Fastest Human". Based on extensive research that included access to Percy's private letters, diary and scrapbooks, this is the first full-length account of this sports legend, one of the most famous Canadians of his day but now largely forgotten. It begins as the Cinderella story of a youth who conquers a sport dominated by American sprinters. Then it gets grittier, for success and fame had a dark side. I Just Ran follows Percy and his janitor-coach Bob Granger as they journey through the world of elite running in the 1920s and 30s -- a world that was not always pretty beneath the veneer of amateurism.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Vancouver
Canada
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 226 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
544 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-55380-126-9 (9781553801269)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Samuel Hawley is a Kingston-based historian, writer and former teacher. His books include Speed Duel: The Inside Story of the Land Speed Record in the Sixties, The Imjin War: Japan's Sixteenth-Century Invasion of Korea and Attempt to Conquer China, and America's Man in Korea.